Little Says Gagne Is Ready to Go

JUPITER, Fla. â€”  Grady Little woke up Tuesday thinking about relief.

No, he didn’t have heartburn. That inevitably will occur at some point in April when the Dodgers lose their first gut-wrencher.

Eric Gagne was on the manager’s mind. And as any Dodger fan knows, nothing spells relief quite like a healthy Gagne.

Keeping his closer productive will be a challenge for Little. He already has decided Gagne will be restricted to the ninth inning. As the season progresses, he might use Gagne to get the last out in the eighth and also pitch the ninth, but he said he would not ask Gagne to pitch two full innings.

But first things first. Little asked himself whether Gagne -- whose 2005 season ended when he had elbow surgery in June -- would be ready to close the first three games of the season if necessary.

“Will this man be able to do that?� he said. “That was in my thoughts this morning. And the answer in my mind is yes.�

The presence of established closer Danys Baez should help keep Little from overusing Gagne. During the last month of the 2004 season, when the Dodgers were competing for the division title they eventually won, Gagne pitched two innings six times.

“Maybe that contributed to his [injury] problems last year,� Little said. “Who knows?�

In addition to eliminating the need for Gagne to pitch the eighth inning, Baez can close occasionally. He had 41 saves for Tampa Bay last season.

“If Eric needs 25 pitches to get through an inning, the next night Danys could close the game,� Little said.

Gagne has pitched a scoreless inning in each of his four spring appearances. He will pitch an inning every other day beginning today and pitch on back-to-back days at some point next week.

His fastball has been in the low 90s, his changeup is as devastating as ever and he is mixing in a slider for the first time since he was a starter five years ago.

*

If Joel Guzman ever fantasized about refusing to take the field after the Dodgers moved him from shortstop to left field, he is keeping it to himself. But he admits to sympathizing with Alfonso Soriano of the Washington Nationals, whose act of defiance before a game Monday against the Dodgers made national headlines.

Soriano does not want to move from second base -- where he is a four-time All-Star -- to left field. Guzman realizes he is not a four-time All-Star, at least not yet.

“It’s different when you are asked to change at the beginning of your career than after you are established,� Guzman said. “He’s a superstar at second base. Only if you are in his position can you know how he feels.

“But it’s like this. If you are a doctor, you are a doctor. You can’t be something else. That’s how I feel about it.�

*

Odalis Perez retired the six batters he faced in a minor league intrasquad game at Vero Beach. J.D. Drew and Nomar Garciaparra also played in the intrasquad game. ... The Florida Marlins scored six runs against starter Aaron Sele in two innings en route to an 8-6 victory over the Dodgers.